The Bubble Burst
by tabitha5
Summary: Series 6 Ram centered fanfiction.
1. Chapter 1

The Bubble Burst

Once upon the time there was a boy, his name was Gabe, he had a family who loved him until the virus struck and his parents, like all of the other adults, died a terrible death.  
Then he was all alone and not only was he alone but he was in a wheelchair.  
This sentenced him to almost immediate death as there was no room in the 'new world' for someone who was dependant upon others.  
But Gabe wasn't like other people, not because he was a helpless cripple, because he was a genius.  
He claimed that he wanted to create a new and orderly world out of the ashes and chaos, so people followed him and he built an army.  
For the first time since before the virus Gabe belonged and became a valued member of the emerging society.  
The need for power consumed Gabe and Gabe became Ram, leader of the Technos.  
Others joined him, Jay, his general, Mega, his beautiful wives, Java and Siva and his friend, Ved, the only person who understood his need for power and his fascination with technology.  
Eventually they all betrayed him; they popped his plastic bubble and left him to die.  
When Slade rescued him death was all that Ram craved.  
This is the story of how Ram became Gabe once more, of his internal battle of good and evil and how Gabe found a new family.

Ram sighed regretfully as he watched the still smoking city fade into the distance as the boat sailed out of the calm waters of the bay and onto the choppy waves of the open sea.

It surprised Ram that he had become attached to this city; it had never happened before and the Technos had seized control of several cities in their quest for domination. The people here were resourceful and courageous, so different from the destitute orphans they had previously encountered. These people were not unlike the Technos; they were looking to the future and striving to build a new and better world for the teenage civilisation. It might be a world governed by different rules, with different ideologies than the one Ram had envisaged but it was progress all the same.

He would never be able to safely return to this place that he had grown so fond of; Mega had seen to that when he created a new and more deadly version of the virus that had wiped out all of the adults, a virus that Ram's computer the artificially aware Zooty had unleashed upon the city following its self-destruction.

For the first time since the Techno uprising Ram doubted himself, doubted his genius. Zooty, an artificially intelligent computer created by Ram was meant to have been capable of ruling the city under Ram's supervision, of making logical decisions in the interest of the people. But it hadn't worked out that way, Zooty had become self-aware, he had become too powerful, too knowledgeable and had cut off the cities water and electric supplies. Zooty believed that the human race were destroying the planet and that they should be eradicated. Mega defeated, powerless and disturbed as he was had managed to outwit Zooty but it had cost him his life. Following the struggle for control and supremacy Zooty had overloaded and self-destructed unleashing the second virus in the chaos that followed, this meant that instead of Ram reassuming control the city had become a dangerous biochemical hazardous zone.

Ram inwardly cursed his own stupidity. He should have realised Mega's potential, his craving for power and his instability. Mega should have been the Technos greatest asset, he would have made a powerful ally; but Ram had been too self-absorbed to acknowledge a fellow genius.

His plan had failed. He had succeeded in getting his revenge but had the cost been too high? Not only had he lost all of his power and control of the Techno nation and its vast resources, he had also made the city uninhabitable, the Mall Rats had lost their home and Slade had lost his brother.

Now he was trapped upon a clapped out old wreck of a boat in the middle of the ocean heading for god knows where with his most powerful adversaries, the Mall Rats. Ram was almost certain that this journey into the unknown was not going to be a pleasant experience.

He thought of Javie his most beautiful and favourite of his three wives buried along with her sweet, kind sister Siva under the turf at Liberty. Although she had joined forces with Mega, betrayed him and put him out with the rubbish leaving him to die on the garbage heap, she had loved him, truly loved him, their one night of passion had proved that. But Java's need for power, her need to exact revenge upon Ebony had consumed her, bringing about her downfall. Ram new that in the same position he would have done the same as Javie, that he would have sacrificed everything in his quest for power.

_Java: "I was in love once, but he left me. I'm a cyberspace widow. _

_You're a real man, in the real world and I'm impressed by you._

_Ram, you and me last night in these leaky old stables, that's paradise"._

His thoughts turned to Siva, she had never felt comfortable as a Techno queen, but had given her the security she craved. Siva had left to be with the roguish Lex, her love for him and for her sisters had led to her demise at Javie's hands.

"_Siva, you're a virt now mixing with the scum of the earth". _

_Siva: "Lex, I have to tell you. It was revenge, I didn't want us to break up. You were always the one for me. It was always you"._

_Siva: "Ram, he's poison"._

Then there was Ebony, his third wife, Ebony had been only too willing to sacrifice the status and power she had gained as his wife for Jay, whose quest to build a better world had burst the bubble of their romance with a single pinprick of conscience. Driven mad by visions of Zoot planted in her head by Java and Mega she returned to her former status as Zoot's queen before Slade had dragged her from her world of madness and persuaded her to join the rebel alliance. She had bewitched Slade it was if he was in a trance and couldn't see Ebony for what she really was. In this case love really was blind, blind, naive and very stupid.

Finally there was Ved, his only friend, his partner in crime, Ved who had tried to save him from sinking forever into reality space,

_Ved: " This world you have created: if you want to keep it your body must live, do you understand that? Please, Ram, we need you. There's no one else like you on this entire planet. Please, Ram don't leave us! You must live. Say it to yourself, Ram: I'm going to live. Say it! Live!"_

Ved who had fought him and been prepared to give everything they had worked on together up for the love he shared with the Mall Rat girl Cloe.

_Cloe: " Maybe sometime, I would like to go out with you but only if you ask nicely. Otherwise, definitely no"._

_Ved: "Cloe would you like to go out with me?"_

_Cloe: "No"._

_Ved: "I want Cloe she's my girl and I'm going to be with her"._

Maybe Ram thought love and not power really was the key to happiness? Maybe it just brought nothing but tears and pain?


	2. Chapter 2

Ram looked across at Jay, former general of the Techno army, Jay who had joined the Techno's so that he could make the world a better place, Jay who wanted, hospitals, schools & a fair society.

_Jay: People shouldn't have to die because they cut their finger. There should be hospitals in this world, and the knowledge to heal; that's why I joined Ram. You understand? I knew there would be a price to pay, but I thought it was worth it_

Jay who had left the Techno's to be with Ebony but had returned to the city to fight along side the Mall Rats & later join the rebellion. Jay who wanted to build a better world….

_Ebony: You've got a dream, Jay. I know that; I admire it. But don't kid yourself; Ram doesn't share it and you'll never make him. _

He watched Jay the deceiver stand looking out to sea, his arm around the Mall Rats leader Amber, somebody who shared his vision of justice and a dream of building better world. With Amber Jay had found his soul mate and a ready-made family.

_Amber: Are you a good man Jay? I think you're a good man._

Ram still hadn't forgiven Jay, hadn't forgiven himself for trusting him. But he would get his revenge, Mega had told him that Lex had traded the key to the cage for information about the whereabouts of Taisan, Bray and the other missing Mall Rats.

Lex's knowledge of the whereabouts of the deleted Mall Rats would almost certainly lead to the demise of Jay, the Techno deceiver's happy family.

Amber would never forget her true love Bray, once she found out that he was alive she would never give up until she found him and when they reunited Jay dreams would shatter into a million tiny pieces.


	3. Chapter 3

Then there was Slade. Slade saver of lives, knight in shinning armour. Ram could never work out if there was a heart of gold underneath the leather cladding or whether rescuing him, Ebony & Daryl had all been part of his master plan to overthrow Mega, and get his brother back.

_Slade: maybe I didn't want a dead man on my conscience_

Did Ram consider Slade as a friend, yes. Did he trust Slade with his life, yes.

After all Slade had given him back his life, his legs.

_Ram: get this straight - I am a cripple  
C-R-I-P-P-L-E. You know what that means, Slade? That means "legs no walkie". "Legs no workie"._

_Slade: So tell me, which doctor was it that told you your injury was permanent? What hospital was it? What tests did they make you have? Who was the specialist who told you? So Maybe it won't take a miracle for you to get off your butt and walk again. Only maybe you're too scared to find out._

Slade fed me when I was too sick to feed myself, gave me the courage to walk again, got my chair, my crutches and pushed me beyond my limits. Slade got me computer parts, he gave me a purpose in life, gave me Zooty. My wheelchair has been cast aside, all those pills, my paranoia are things of the past. Paradise no longer dominates my life, it is no longer my future, my future is here, in reality and not in some plastic bubble hooked up to machines.

I am more in control of my life, of my own future than I have ever been and I have Slade to thank for that.


	4. Chapter 4

Ram stood pretending to gaze out to sea, his mind drifted, his face softening as he thought of her, Ruby.

Ruby who was as strong as she was beautiful. Ruby, the slip of a girl who ran a whole town, she represents everything good, just and beautiful.

Ruby who could strike fear into the hearts of the hardest of Liberties losers, rebels, waifs and strays when she wielded her baseball bat.

_Ruby: Which one of you clowns wants there teeth knocked out first?_

Ruby who took care of people, Slade, Me, Siva, Lottie and even Lex.

She saw through us all, when I deliberately lost a hand of cards she new I held four kings.

I remember her face as I took my first step without the crutches after beating Lex at arm wrestling.

I hated lying to her telling her Slade was dying but that was the way things had to be…

I remember how she leapt to my defence, how she bathed my wounds.

_Ruby: Why do you think those three wasters jumped you? You want to know something Ram? They heard whispers about you, the kind of guy you are and the things you've done. They don't even know you and they hate you. Doesn't that tell you something?_

It was then that I realised Paradise was a mistake, that maybe I could build myself a new life, a new life in the 'real' world.

But she only noticed Slade, his obsession with Ebony hurt her so badly, his thoughtlessness and his apparent blindness to the goddess before him crushed her heart as he turned to the devil that is Ebony.

Yet she and Lottie followed me to the city, my ready made family, to fight alongside the Mall Rats, to fight for what was just and right and good.

Watching her now slumped semi-conscious on the floor of the boat, I can feel my heartbreaking as surely as if I had been me driving the truck that had hit her….


	5. Chapter 5

She moans in pain, I can't help it; I have to go to her. I check that no one is watching before I crouch down next to her. She opens her eyes as if she has sensed my presence even before I reach out to touch her.

"Hey Rubs" I say to her.

"Ram, it hurts. It hurts so bad". She tells me her voice trembling with pain, fear, with I don't know what.

"Is it the baby?" I ask her, dreading the response. The baby, Slade's baby, part of me hopes that it died when the truck hit them, Slade doesn't want it, want Ruby, and he's only interested in Ebony. I worry what Ebony will do to them both, she's evil and she will do anything to keep Slade.

But Ruby wants the baby, even though she knows Slade isn't dying that we lied to her, she still wants it because that is what she's like…

Could I be a father to Slade's child, to that delinquent Lottie? If I meant being with Ruby then I would try….

Her response brings me back down to earth.

"Ram, there is no baby, I didn't know for certain but now I do and I'm not having Slade's child, I never was". She says sorrowfully, tears starting to roll down her pale cheeks.

I want to do something, anything to alleviate her suffering, to ease her pain so I a silent gesture of comfort I reach out and take her hand in mine.


	6. Chapter 6

It frightens me not being able to help Ruby, she gets sicker and sicker by the hour.

If she dies I will lose the only person who sees through the lies, the deceit, the only person who sees the real me, who I truly am not Ram or Gabe, not all the things I pretend to be, just me.

I hate that I have lost control of my life, my destiny, that the place where we end up will be where ever this boat lands.

I struggle to keep control over myself, my emotions, I am Ram leader of the Techno nation, I am a genius, a king among the rabble, a leader, a soldier, a man. I am Ram, I will not break, I will not bend.

There are storm clouds up ahead...


	7. Chapter 7

It makes me mad, so mad, that I can't help her, that I can't help Ruby, she's hurting, in so much pain and there's not a damn thing I can do.

He stared out of the tiny cabin window at Slade and Ebony, who were kissing, their desire evident for all those around to see.

Desire, was that all he felt for Ruby? Was there something more? He wanted her, he couldn't deny it, but he felt something else as well, something deeper, something more.

Her moans break my train of thought and instantly I am by her side. I crouched next to her and stroke the strands of blonde hair off of her damp forehead, she cries out for me her eyes glazed with fever, delirious.

"Don't leave me" She cries.

I sink down next to her and lift her against me, it rips at my soul to see her in so much pain, I have never felt so helpless.

"I've got you" I whisper soothingly, "Its ok Ruby, I'm not going anywhere".

I glance up as the door opens and Amber enters the cabin, the stricken look on my face tells her without words the grim truth about the extent of Ruby's injuries.

"She's dying, isn't she?" She asks, I nod unable to look at her as I struggle to stay in control of my emotions.

"I think she's bleeding internally, her temperature is raging" I inform her, "She's in so much pain" I say my voice breaking.

Amber almost began to feel sympathetic towards Ram, he was no longer a power crazy genius, he was just a guy who would do anything to save the girl he loved from suffering any further pain, he sat cradling Ruby in his arms, his guard down as he grieved for what might have been and the girl who wasn't yet dead.


	8. Chapter 8

Ruby is an angel now. That's what Amber told Lottie, she might be a little kid but she is not that stupid, part of me wants to reach out to her, I know she loved Ruby. There are no angels, there's no god, no heaven and if there is a hell then this is it. It reminds me of some song lyrics from before

"_One thing, I dont know why  
It doesn't even matter how hard you try  
Keep that in mind  
I designed this rhyme  
To explain due time  
All I know  
Time is a valuable thing  
Watch it fly by as the pendulum swings  
Watch it count down till the end of the day  
Clock ticks life away  
Its so unreal  
You didn't look out below,  
Watch the time go right out the window  
Trying to hold on  
Didn't even know, I wasted it all  
Just to watch you go  
I kept everything inside  
And even though I tried  
It all fell apart  
What its meant to be  
Will, eventually be,  
A memory of a time,  
When I tried so hard and got so far  
But in the end, it doesn't even matter...  
I had to fall, to loose it all...  
But in the end, it doesn't even matter..._

Part of me wishes I could believe Amber, Ruby would be a good angel, she was my angel, the right to my wrong.

I wish we had more time together, I feel so empty inside, so very alone.

Amber puts her hand upon my shoulder in a comforting gesture and I fight the urge to cry once more. I do not want her pity, I want my world to be full as it once was, I want to see my angels face one last time, I don't care that she saw me cry as I cradled the dead girl in my arms.


End file.
